Renmin University of China Professional Master's Thesis Template Formatting Guide

Overview of formatting requirements

Renmin University of China professional master’s (专业硕士, zhuānyè shuòshì) theses combine theory with practice. Layout must satisfy general Graduate School rules plus professional-degree notices. Many programs favor case studies, survey reports, or policy analysis, but paper size, margins, fonts, and reference style stay unified.

If you write in LaTeX, ctexbook (with the ctex bundle) is a common document class for Chinese book-style theses—chapters, appendices, figures, and bibliography behave like a Chinese monograph. Word users should rely on the official template and note details such as headers showing the thesis title, which may differ from academic master’s layouts in the humanities.

Page setup

• Paper: A4 portrait.
• Margins: Top and bottom 2.54 cm (1 inch); left and right 3.17 cm (1.25 inch). This is not uniform 2.54 cm on all four sides—the wider left and right aid binding and marginal notes; do not reset to Word’s default “Normal” margins when exporting PDF.
• Page numbers: Whether front matter is sectioned and whether Roman vs. Arabic numerals switch follows the Graduate School template.
• Headers: A frequent rule is that the header includes the thesis title (or alternates chapter title and thesis title—follow the current template). With “different odd and even,” edit each header separately to avoid blank or duplicated even pages.

Fonts and typography

• Chinese body: Songti (宋体), 12 pt.
• English body: Times New Roman, 12 pt.
• Headings: Level 1 often Heiti, larger than body; lower levels decrease—use styles consistently.
• Line spacing: Per Graduate School or college template (often fixed or multiple); do not reuse the 1.25× undergraduate template by mistake.

Whether English abstract and English table of contents are required follows the program’s training plan; if bilingual TOC is required, keep page numbers in sync when updating.

Cover and front matter

Professional master’s covers often emphasize degree category and practice components:

| Category | Typical fields |

|----------|----------------|

| Title | Chinese and English |

| Degree | Professional master’s (and field, e.g. engineering domain name) |

| People | Author, university supervisor, enterprise/practice supervisor if required |

| Unit | College, professional field or research direction |

| ID | Student ID if the form has a line |

| Date | Submission or completion year/month |

Chapter structure

Typical required structure:

• Abstract (Chinese)
• Abstract (English)
• Introduction / 绪论 (background, significance, structure—whether split follows the college)
• Main chapters (theory, cases, surveys, design)
• References

Some programs require appendices for questionnaires, interview guides, or data excerpts; acknowledgments may be optional per year. If a practice report must stand as its own chapter, keep numbering consistent with the rest of the thesis.

Reference list format

• Style: GB/T 7714-2005 numeric.
• Practical sources: Industry standards, government documents, yearbooks, and annual reports need correct GB/T 7714 types and verifiable metadata (issuing body, document number, date, access path).
• Cases and web materials: Avoid bare URLs; prefer citable archival or published entries when possible.

After using reference managers with 7714 numeric export, check volume/issue/pages, conference venue, report numbers—software often drops fields.

LaTeX (ctexbook) notes

• ctexbook suits chapter openings and duplex layout; with geometry, match margins to the official Word template.
• Headers: fancyhdr can set odd/even headers so the thesis title appears as required.
• Bibliography: biblatex with gb7714-2015 (or newer) may be used if your group adopts the updated national standard—confirm with the department whether 2005 is mandatory; if so, verify exported entries manually.

Common formatting mistakes

• Margins set to 2.54 cm on all sides—wrong for RUC professional master’s 3.17 cm left/right.
• Header missing thesis title—only chapter names or blank headers.
• Wrong degree label—e.g. writing an academic subdiscipline name instead of “MBA” or the correct professional degree title.
• Reference types wrong—treating a government memo as a journal article.
• English abstract omits methods or conclusions present in Chinese.

Coordinating content and form

• Case confidentiality: Redact company names in the case but keep real supervisor and degree data on the cover; use aliases in the case with a footnote if allowed.
• Figure sources: Industry or consulting figures need source and rights notes.
• Long appendices: Split into Appendix A, B, … and list them in the TOC.

Formal review before defense and archiving

• Cover date vs. library deadline is logical.
• English title matches on cover, half-title, and header (if any).
• Update all fields for TOC and figure lists.
• PDF bookmarks and hyperlinks meet submission rules.

Errors when the header must show the thesis title

• After a section break, “link to previous” can leave the wrong chapter title in the header—unlink and set per chapter if the template works that way.
• Long titles may wrap in the header—reduce header font or use an approved short title.
• PDF export with wrong distance from header to body—check Layout → Header distance from edge.

Word vs. LaTeX collaboration

Mixing LaTeX exports with Word chapters loses fonts and styles—prefer one toolchain for final submission, or merge PDFs only as an emergency and verify continuous page numbers (merging PDFs may break library metadata).

Professional vs. academic master’s layout

They may share a broad framework, but cover fields (professional category, practice supervisor), header text, and appendix rules differ—do not only swap academic-master’s covers; use the professional template.

Readability for reviewers

Reviewers often skim abstract, TOC, Chapter 1, and conclusion—heading styles and numbering must be flawless. In references, English journal abbreviations vs. full Chinese journal names should follow one consistent rule.

System metadata vs. print

Library or degree systems may require Chinese/English title, keywords, abstract—if input boxes have length limits, match the thesis first, then abbreviate only with office approval.

If anything here conflicts with Renmin University’s latest document, the latest file wins.

Practice reports rewritten as theses

Some programs allow turning internship or consulting reports into theses; the final work must still read as a thesis, with academic-style references—avoid slang section titles and uncited internal data.

Common English Abstract pitfalls

Tense inconsistency; undefined acronyms; numbers or sample sizes that differ from the Chinese abstract. A bilingual abstract checklist helps before submission.

Timeline (professional master’s)

| Stage | Action |

|-------|--------|

| Proposal | Case sources and redaction plan |

| Mid-term | Unified reference tool and 7714 style |

| Pre-defense | Header thesis title and odd/even pages |

| Final | TOC, references, English title consistency |

| Archive | PDF bookmarks and system metadata |

How to generate RUC professional master’s format with AutoSCI

• Upload your thesis — PDF or Word
• Choose a template — “Renmin University of China Professional Master’s Thesis” (中国人民大学专业硕士学位论文)
• Fill in cover fields — Title, author, supervisors, college, degree category, etc.
• Export — Word or PDF aligned with RUC rules

AutoSCI follows Renmin University of China’s current thesis norms for cover, pagination, fonts, and references.

Further reading (official sources)

Use the writing and layout notices from the Graduate School and Professional Degree Education Center for the current year; LaTeX users should compile PDF and compare page by page with the official Word template. If the national reference standard is updated, follow the university’s forwarded notice.